Articles Posted inWill Contest

In California, over the years, I have handled many cases involving disputes between family members over the estates of a deceased relative. Brothers against sisters, sisters against brothers, uncles against nieces, nephews and others. Some cases go to trial; other cases settle. In all events, however, someone is going to be disappointed with the outcome, which disappointment can occur even if they prevail.

If you have been disinherited, you believe that the instrument that disinherited you was obtained by undue influence or when your deceased loved one (or relative) was incompetent, your recourse is the courts. Let’s say that you succeed in getting the offending instrument (a will or a trust) thrown out. What then?

The court may say that if there is no other earlier instrument, the estate will go by intestacy (as if the decedent died without a will) and it will then be divided among the heirs of the decedent. However, if there is an earlier instrument (perhaps a will) in which you have also been disinherited, then prevailing in the trust contest only sets you up for the next contest, which is to challenge the will (presumably on the same grounds as you challenged the trust).

I have represented three sisters against their brother over their mother’s will.

I’ve represented a child who was adopted and thought she had a great relationship with her presumed half-sister and then found out the sister wanted all of the deceased father’s estate. We had to find tissue and get DNA testing to resolve that matter despite all of the family photographs.

I’ve represented cousins against a decedent’s lover, who got the decedent to leave his entire multi-million dollar estate to the lover. We showed up for trial at 1PM. The judge sent us to discuss settlement … three different times I announced that I would proceed with the trial because there could be no settlement, and three different times the other side blinked. We finally settled at 7:30 PM (kudos to the judge and his staff for staying so late).

A typical case will involve a family member contacting me to complain about the dispositions in a will or trust of a deceased relative, with allegations that another family member or a caregiver “got” to the deceased relative to unduly benefit themselves at the expense of the other family members.

To properly analyze the case, I obtain copies of all prior testamentary documents (to determine if the terms are at variance with the current documents, and how great a variance there is).

1. In the use, by one in whom a confidence is reposed by another, or who holds a real or apparent authority over him, of such confidence or authority for the purpose of obtaining an unfair advantage over him;

There are times when a will is challenged in California. There are many reason why this happens and the law sets forth the procedures to follow in making a challenge. Some reasons a will may be challenged include:

Lytton Williams Messina & Hankin LLP (the “Firm”) maintain close relationships with their clients and continue to make personalized service their number one priority. Partners Lytton Willaims and Messina were all formerly partners in the Century city law firm of Kelly Lytton & Williams. Prior to joining Kelly Lytton, Sheldon Lytton and Richard Williams, each with more than 30 years of legal experience practiced at O’Melveny & Myers and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, respectively, and were then partners in Finely Kumble Wagner Heine Underberg & Manley, one of the largest national law firms in the United States. John Messina, head of the Firm’s Temecula Valley Office, is a licensed real estate broker and was the head of a mortgage banking firm in the San Gabriel Valley before turning to the law. Ted Hankin, an attorney and CPA, heads the Firm’s Newport Beach Office and was formerly the Division Chair of the Estates, Probate and Trust Division of Alvarado Smith APC. Henry Holguin, of Counsel to the Firm, was formerly a name partner in Miller & Holguin, and is one of California’s most noted health care attorneys; he currently serves as the general counsel of AltaMed, the largest Federally qualified Community Health Center in the United States.

The Firm’s Practice Areas Include:

1. General Business Litigation and Resolution of Disputes, including Representation of Public Agencies, and Representation of Clients before Federal, State and Local Government Agencies.

Suppose a will is being offered for probate (the process by which the decedent’s debts are paid and the assets distributed) and someone thinks (a) the writer of the will was mentally incompetent when they wrote it or (b) the writer of the will was being unduly influenced at the time (in other words, without the influence, the will would have been written differently).

Their best option is to file a will contest to try and prove their theories as to why the will should not be subject to probate. They might have an earlier will that benefits them and they want to offer that document for probate.

All of the above amounts to a will contest which boils down to litigation in the probate court. I’ve represented both sides. Sometimes it is a niece against an uncle, three sisters against a brother, brother against brother.